

Only like 3.5% of the world’s population lives in the US. So if you happen to live in a country that has been negatively affected by US foreign policy in the last 50 years and don’t much care what happens to people inside the US right now, or what labels and pins they put on their jackets, yeah there is little difference between red and blue. Like if you ignore what ideological they profess to and simply look at their actions on other countries.
Empathy can be “disabled” though certain ideology or religion. Saying such radical things like “no difference” is an attempt help people snap out of this “sociopathic trance”. Or at worst an attempt to mock or scold you for defending an imperialist regime that has caused countless deaths and immense suffering over the last 7 decades.
Obviously this is futile. And lemmy is much more pleasurable when blocking such people.
I feel the same. Besides what you mentioned, there is also the effect on what news and content will be produced and shown (see Manufacturing Consent). The advertisers who are the customers of shows want the viewers in a buying mood. So while “if it bleeds it leads” works fine but controversial topics that disturbs people or make them think will not be shown.
Best example is youtube - once the demonetization came there must have been significant effects on what topics were discussed and how. Without sponsorings and patreon it would be worse, but this or rule is shaping our global civilization for the worse.
People pay far too much attention to ideology, but it’s the rules of a system that lead it to converge to different outcomes. And advertising is a big one.